International aluminum producer BHP Billiton joined in an exceptional partnership with the governments of three African countries and with other businesses to take on malaria across the region. Six years later, the New York Times reports, malaria is losing.
Billiton's initiative began in its Mozal smelter in Mozambique, where one in three of their employees -- almost 6,600 cases in two years-- were affected by the disease. Billiton's example is being hailed by the UN as a model of private sector and government partnership. The key to the success of this model, observers say, is a partnership which mobilizes efforts regionally while matching resources to the scope of the disease.
Mozal represents a capital investment of $1.3 billion, making it one of Africa's largest enterprises. To be effective on a wide scale, the partnership model must involve companies that have a fraction of Mozal's financial and managerial resources. IFC is doing exactly that in the fight against AIDS.
Over the past few years, IFC has created partnerships with African companies under the IFC Against AIDS program. One of them is Mozal itself, for which IFC provided much of the financing. Other companies involved in the program are much smaller. The aim is to help smaller companies replicate Mozal's model and be as successful against equally devastating diseases.
Comments